Chapter 9
Ain’t trickin if you got it
I woke up with Tammy still asleep beside me, her long hair tangled all across her face. I gently brushed it away, just looking at how beautiful she was. My light-bright ass loved me a brown-skinned woman, and I wanted Tammy bad—not just physically, but mentally too.
Suddenly, someone started beating on my front door hard as fuck. I laid there, acting like I didn't hear a damn thing. I knew it wasn't Donny; he had a key.
Tammy bolted upright, startled out of her sleep by the noise. Irritated, I rolled out of bed, stormed down the stairs, and threw the door open. It was Rudy. She was standing there with a wagon full of groceries, a Fashion Nova dress on, and her hair weave neatly flat-ironed.
“Boy, you gone let your mama in?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You don’t call before popping up at my house?” I shot back.
She pushed past me without missing a beat, and I stepped out of her way.
She headed straight for the kitchen. I followed her ass because my mama was slick with it.
I hopped up and sat on the counter while she started pulling expired food out of my refrigerator, wiping down the shelves with a dish rag before stocking everything she’d just bought.
“Mama, why are you doing all this?” I asked.
“The little boy I pushed out was avoiding me like I’m not a good-ass mama who takes care of her boys,” she said, not looking up. “My job is to take care of you until you find a young lady who’s willing to do it.”
Right on cue, I looked up to see Tammy walking down the stairs. She was wearing a sweated-out silk press, one of my oversized t-shirts that looked like a crop top, and my boxers pulled up so high they looked like panties. My dick instantly got hard—shorty is just too fine.
I looked over at Rudy, who was admiring her beauty too.
“Son, I ain’t know you like 'em thick now,” Rudy said.
I laughed, shaking my head. “Ma, mind your business.”
Tammy froze at the bottom of the stairs like a statue. Rudy walked right over to her with a warm smile.
“Hey, gorgeous. I didn’t get your name. I’m Rudy, Clover’s mother.”
“Hey, I’m Tammy, but you can call me Golden. I’m Clo’s friend,” Tammy replied, recovering quickly.
“Nice to meet you, Golden. I didn’t know my son had company. I wouldn’t have come unannounced, but someone’s been avoiding me,” Rudy said, shooting a sharp side-eye in my direction.
“Well, Ma, I thank you for doing the welfare check, but I got a long day ahead of me,” I said, stepping in.
Rudy grabbed her Kurt Geiger bag, gave Tammy a warm hug, shot me one last bird, and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
“What the hell was that about?” Tammy said, eyes wide. “She is bad asf. Ain’t no way your mama walking around looking like a young goddess.”
“Please don’t let her hear you say that; her head is already big enough,” I muttered. “And we aren't on good terms right now—she won’t give me space. I don’t even want to talk about it.”
Tammy folded her arms and rolled her neck. “Did I ask you to talk about it, mama’s boy?”
“How do you assume that shit?” I asked, annoyed.
“Your mama just cleaned your fridge, stocked it, and you had the nerve to be mean to her.”
“Has your mama ever taken $15,000 from you?” I fired back.
Tammy went quiet, staring at me. “...No.”
“Well. Let’s change the subject. Let me take you shopping. You need some clothes here for when you come over.”
“Who said I’m coming back over here?” she teased.
“Damn, Ma. Even if you don’t, I just want to spoil you.”
I grabbed her hand and led her back upstairs. I threw on a white slim-fit polo, and she changed back into her work gear—fishnets, glitter shorts that fit like panties, and a crop top.
“Baby, I don’t like this outfit, they got you dressed like a hooker,” I grumbled. “I’m gone call Mellow and tell him he needs to change y'all's uniform ASAP.”
“Boy, how you gone tell someone how to run their business?” she laughed. “Besides, in this outfit, I made $950 last night.”
“Oh, yeah? Big money. Let me hold some.” I was playing, but I secretly intended to drop way more than that on her today.
When we got to the mall, she acted shy at first, but I made sure she grabbed at least $500 worth of clothes at Fashion Nova.
She dropped $300 at SHEIN, $200 at Lane Bryant, and another $500 at Michael Kors.
Finally, we hit up a store called Dolls Kill to get her some new work shoes—some red heels that climbed all the way up her thighs for $150.
We sat in the car in the mall parking lot for a minute.
I lit a pre-roll and gave her a shotgun hit.
I really just wanted to kiss her, but I didn’t want to come off too strong.
Even though I’d just taken lil' mama on a serious shopping spree, I wasn't trying to press her.
I could just tell she had been in a rough position, and I wanted to help how I could.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Yeah, I can eat.”
We pulled off and I decided to take her to Ruth’s Chris. I ordered the calamari, a 24-ounce T-bone steak, lobster mac and cheese, and grilled asparagus. She went with the $60 three-course meal, which got her chowder soup, stuffed chicken breast with garlic, mashed potatoes, and classic cheesecake.
My bill was close to $200, and hers was around $70. Shawty was bad, but she wasn't out here trying to bleed me dry—she actually knew how to manage her money. I made a mental note of that.
“Damn, baby girl, do you want anything else?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
“No, I’m overly good. You never even told me what you do for work, though.”
“Don’t worry 'bout that. Just know that little bit of cash I spent today was nothing,” I said, flashing my grillz.
She slid back in her chair, looking at me, then quickly tried to straighten her posture.
“So, what are we?” I asked, genuinely trying to figure out where we stood.
“I guess we're dating,” she said softly. “I’m just not trying to jump into anything too quick. I just got out of a relationship.”
I flagged the waiter down for to-go boxes. She boxed up our food while I slipped $500 into the booklet, and we headed out.
As soon as we got in the car, my phone rang. It was Mario, calling to tell me that Red had just jumped on one of the fiends over old money. I hit the gas, rushing through traffic, and pulled up to the trap house thirty minutes later. Donny was standing outside.
Before I could even put the car in park, Tammy jumped out and ran straight up to hug Donny.
I brushed past him, heated, and walked into the house.
A small woman was stretched out on the floor with two massive knots on her head.
She was way too little for Red to have been putting hands on her like that.
Donny and Tammy walked in right behind me, followed by Mario, who was carrying a towel full of ice. Tammy took one look at the woman on the floor, and tears instantly spilled over her eyes. She dropped hard to her knees, shaking the woman.
“Mama? What’s wrong? What’s wrong, Mama?” she cried out.
I froze. “This is your mama?” I asked.
Tammy nodded slowly, tears streaming down her face.
I got instantly pissed. I spun around and screamed right in Mario’s face. “You don’t make any moves without checking with me first! I’m the boss, and that bitch Red had no business touching her!”
“Your mama owed us $150,” Mario mumbled defensively.
“Nigga, you are making bank! There is no way you let Red jump on this lady over $150! You were just supposed to cut her off, not put your hands on her!”
“I’ve gotta go to work,” Tammy whispered, her voice shaking.
“Okay, baby girl. Let me call an ambulance for her. Y'all take her outside and wait for them,” I told Donny and Mario.
The ride back was dead silent. I could feel how much pain Tammy was in.
“I’m sorry this shit happened, baby girl,” I said, turning toward her, but she wouldn’t look at me.
“It’s cool. She chose this fucked-up life,” Tammy said flatly.
When we pulled up to her place, I carried all her shopping bags inside, setting them neatly in the living room. I still had to go handle business and check Mario’s temperature in private.
Just as I was leaving, Mercedes and Silk walked in.
“Oh yeah, Clo. My lil' cousin got you big tricking,” Mercedes teased, eyeing the luxury bags.
I just smiled at her messy ass. “Don’t worry 'bout what I do for my little shit.”
Mercedes frowned playfully, and I gave her a quick hug. Then I walked over to Tammy, kissed her softly on the lips, and left to go take care of business—and make sure Red learned her lesson.